My name is Patrick Holt, and I'm a librarian at Southwest Regional Library. I'm also a lifelong reader of comics and graphic novels. Check out the contents of this month's newsletter in the box to the left, and get access to past editions in the archive at the bottom of the page.

I hope you find these recommendations worthwhile, and please email me at pdholt@dconc.gov if you have any thoughts or questions.

From the publisher: "In 2010, Lucy and her long-term boyfriend John broke up. Three long, lonely years later, John returned to New York, walked into Lucy's apartment, and proposed. This is not that story. It is the story of what came after: The Wedding.

"DIY maven Lucy Knisley was fascinated by American wedding culture... but also sort of horrified by it. So she set out to plan and execute the adorable DIY wedding to end all adorable DIY weddings. And she succeeded. This graphic novel, Something New--clocking in at almost 300 pages of humor, despair, and eternal love--is the story of how Lucy built a barn, invented a whole new kind of photo booth, and managed to turn an outdoor wedding on a rainy day into a joyous (though muddy) triumph."

From the publisher: "The year is 1872. The place, the Apache nations, a region torn apart by decades of war. The people, like Goyahkla, lose his family and everything he loves. After having a vision, the young Goyahkla approaches the Apache leader Cochise, and the entire Apache nation, to lead an attack against the Mexican village of Azripe. It is this wild display of courage that transforms the young brave Goyakhla into the Native American hero Geronimo. But the war wages on. As they battle their enemies, lose loved ones, and desperately cling on to their land and culture, they would utter, "Indeh," or "the dead." When it looks like lasting peace has been reached, it seems like the war is over. Or is it?

"Indeh captures the deeply rich narrative of two nations at war-as told through the eyes of Naiches and Geronimo-who then try to find peace and forgiveness. Indeh not only paints a picture of some of the most magnificent characters in the history of our country, but it also reveals the spiritual and emotional cost of the Apache Wars. Based on exhaustive research, Indeh offers a remarkable glimpse into the raw themes of cultural differences, the horrors of war, the search for peace, and, ultimately, retribution. The Apache left an indelible mark on our perceptions about the American West, and Indeh shows us why."

From the publisher: "The Vision wants to be human, and what's more human than family? So he heads back to the beginning, to the laboratory where Ultron created him and molded him into a weapon. The place where he first rebelled against his given destiny and imagined that he could be more -that he could be a man. There, he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Two teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his powers. They share his grandest ambition -or is that obsession? -the unrelenting need to be ordinary. Behold the Visions!"

From the publisher: "Nameless tells the story of a down-at-heel occult hustler known only as 'Nameless' who is recruited by a consortium of billionaire futurists as part of a desperate mission to save the world. A massive asteroid named Xibalba - the "Place of Fear" in Mayan mythology - is on collision course with the planet Earth and if that wasn't trouble enough, the asteroid has an enormous magical symbol carved into its side and is revealed to be a fragment of our solar system's lost fifth planet, Marduk, destroyed 65 million years ago at the end of an epic cosmic war between the inhabitants of Marduk and immensely-powerful, life-hating, extra-dimensional "gods". One of those beings is still alive, imprisoned on Xibalba, dreaming of its ultimate revenge on all that exists. When Nameless and his team-mates inadvertently unleash this malignant soul-destroying intelligence, the stage is set for a nightmarish, nihilistic journey to the outer reaches of human terror."

This critically acclaimed memoir recounts the authors childhood an young adulthood as framed by literature and life in a funeral home, with a close examination of her relationship with her closeted gay father.

Enjoy comic books or graphic novels? Join us for themonthly meeting of Main Library's Graphic Book Club. This month we're reading BANNED COMICS! Check out some recommended titles above.

More Events at the Library and Beyond

Ultimate Ladies Book Club

Thursday, Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m.

Ultimate Comics Raleigh,1301 Buck Jones Rd, Raleigh

The first Thursday of each month the Ultimate Ladies Alliance meets to discuss a different comic or graphic novel. Join the Ultimate Ladies’ Alliance on Facebook for more info and to vote on your top picks for the next month’s meeting, plus suggest books for future discussion and share your favorites.

This monthly meetup is for those new to comics and seasoned vets alike. The hardest part of making comics is often making the time to draw, so let’s make that time together! We'll have an exercise or two (often collaborative), but you're welcome to just come to work on your own thing.

More Recommendations

For personalized reading recommendations from Durham County librarians, try My Next 5! Simply complete an online form to tell us a little about what genres, books, and authors you like (or dislike). A DCL librarian will review your submission and reply with a list of the next five books you should read!